


Ghost

by JWade



Category: Supernatural
Genre: M/M, MCD but not permanent and only so he can be a ghost
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-15
Updated: 2018-03-16
Packaged: 2019-03-31 20:27:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13982739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JWade/pseuds/JWade
Summary: Lucifer accidentally kills Sam in Elysian Fields, leaving Gabriel and Dean to pick up the pieces. Too bad his soul became tied to the amulet that Gabriel took with him.





	1. Chapter 1

Gabriel sat outside in the Impala trying to resist the urge to fidget too much and draw attention to himself. He was waiting for Dean to release them all from Kali’s spell, and he hated waiting. Especially in such a volatile situation. It just got worse though as he saw Lucifer entering. Fuck! It was time for the hail mary. It took him a few minutes to get everything ready and he flew back into the ballroom just in time to hear someone ask, ‘you okay?’ Despite knowing that the question wasn’t directed at him, he couldn’t help but answer. “Not really.” The two hunters looked at him incredulously. “Better late than never huh?” he tried to lighten the mood. Not that it really worked. He suppressed a shrug and then grabbed the DVD and pressed it into Dean’s chest. “Guard this with your life,” he ordered, sparing a long glance at Sam before spinning out from behind the table in time to save Kali’s life. Having her owe him could come in handy later. “Luci! I’m home!” he taunted his brother. 

When Lucifer went to charge at him, he raised his blade. “Uh-uh. Not this time,” he said before helping Kali to her feet. “Guys!” he called. “Get her out of here,” he said handing the goddess over to the hunters. 

Before they made it out the doors though, they slammed shut. “Please. Stay,” Lucifer said with a cold smirk, his own blade falling into his hand. “I did come all this way to speak with you after all. It would be rather rude to leave now.” 

Gabriel cursed internally, turning to look at the hunters. “Stay behind me,” he hissed. That turned out to be easier said than done though. Kali tried to help him fight, figuring if she was trapped anyway she might as well try to turn the tide, but Lucifer dispatched her like it was nothing and then there was just Gabriel standing between him and the hunters. He knew that he couldn’t hurt Sam, but taking his brother’s true vessel out of the game could only mean more of an edge for him, and then, even if he didn’t get Sam in the end, at least Michael wouldn’t have the same edge. 

The following fight was brutal. Gabriel was just intending to serve as a distraction, unsure if he could stomach killing his brother. If it was Lucifer or Sam though…there was no contest. He would do whatever he had to do in order to protect the hunter. Even if it meant fratricide. It ended up being all for naught though. He was still trying to recover from a blow that sent him skidding across the room when Lucifer went for a killing blow on Dean. He was too far away to prevent it, but unfortunately Sam wasn’t. He would later swear it went in slow motion as he saw Sam jump in front of the blade heading for Dean’s chest. “NOOOO!” Gabriel screamed already mid-flight. He had just enough time to catch the expression of shock on Lucifer’s face before he disappeared and Gabriel landed beside Sam. 

He knew that it was futile, but he pressed his hands over the wound anyway. He had to try. They glowed for a moment and then flickered out. “No. Please no,” Gabriel whispered and tried again. After the third try, he gave up, letting his hands, followed by his head fall to Sam’s chest as tears poured from his eyes. “No,” he whispered again in denial. 

“What are you doing?” Dean asked frantically, grabbing Gabriel’s shoulder. “Bring him back. Heal him. Whatever. Just…fix it!” he ordered. 

“I can’t,” Gabriel sobbed. 

“What the hell do you mean you can’t?! You’re a freaking archangel!” 

“And he was killed with an archangel blade, you moron. The one thing we can’t heal!” Gabriel snapped. 

“Then…then what…what do we do?” Dean asked, breathing speeding up as he fought the urge to fall apart. 

“There’s nothing…short of my father…there’s nothing,” Gabriel choked out. He was starting to get control of himself though. Enough so that he realized that he was kneeling on something in Sam’s pocket. Sliding his hand in revealed that it was the heavenly pendant. The one that showed when his father was near. It was unlikely it would ever light up, but if it did…if it did, then Gabriel would know. He slipped it into his own pocket and flew away, leaving the hunter grieving over his brother. There was nothing else he could do and he had to get out of there before he blew. 

Sam was standing there watching Gabriel cry over his body and Dean going into shock and he couldn’t help but feel that it was completely surreal. Before he even processed what was going on he felt a tugging feeling and found himself standing next to Gabriel in the middle of a living room. “What are you doing? We need to get back to Dean?” he asked before realizing that Gabriel couldn’t hear him. 

He had just noticed that Gabriel was standing there with his fists clenched and tears running down his cheeks when he flinched as Gabriel moved almost too fast for him to see and grabbed the coffee table and flung it at the wall with a primal scream and it exploded into splinters. It was followed by a lamp and then another lamp and then a television before Gabriel fell to his knees in the now sparse room, wrapping his arms around his stomach and doubling over as he sobbed. 

“Gabriel?” Sam asked worriedly, reaching over to put a hand on his shoulder only to have it go straight through. It was only then that it dawned on him what had really happened. He was dead. He was dead and a ghost and Gabriel couldn’t save him. But why was he here? Why had he followed Gabriel instead of staying with Dean? With his…his body. It took a few minutes before he got the answer to that question as Gabriel pulled the amulet out of his pocket. He must be tied to that. 

“Damnit Dad! If there were ever a time for you to come back it’s now!” He yelled to the ceiling. “Come on!” he shouted. “If you ever gave a single damn about me, you will get your ass down here and fix this!” He waited for a moment switching his gaze from the ceiling to the amulet a few times before he shoved it angrily in his pocket. “Well fuck you too!” he screamed before storming through a door at the back of the room, Sam being pulled along with him. 

Sam watched as Gabriel pulled a bottle of booze off the shelf and poured a large glass downing the whole thing in one drink and then refilling it. He went through the entire bottle in about ten minutes before throwing it to shatter against the wall, followed by the glass. He was shaking so badly it took him a few tries to snap his fingers before another glass was on the counter in front of him and he was grabbing another bottle. This made no sense. Why would Gabriel be taking his death so hard? Hell, he hadn’t thought there was anything that could get under the heartless archangel’s skin. 

Sam decided that he’d seen enough of this. He needed to let Gabriel know that he was here. He remembered his lessons from when they saved the reaper seal and reached out to try and knock Gabriel’s glass off the bar. Nothing. It just went right through. He concentrated a little harder and tried again. Still nothing. He tried the bottle, he tried to shove Gabriel, move a chair, nothing had any effect whatsoever. What the hell? It hadn’t been this hard before. He kept trying for hours. Long past the point of exhaustion, as Gabriel got more and more plastered before he finally fell off his chair and didn’t get back up. Sam rushed over, hoping against hope that he hadn’t managed to kill himself and keep Sam stuck here alone, but he breathed a sigh of relief when he noticed the slow rise and fall of the archangel’s chest. He couldn’t help the snort of amusement at the snore that followed, and he plopped down on the ground to wait his mini-coma out. He would try again to get his attention when he was awake and halfway sober.


	2. Chapter 2

The next few days were an exercise in boredom. Other than sleeping off his bender, the archangel didn’t sleep, and neither did Sam, but he had watched Gabriel just moping around the house. He saw the archangel reorganize his entire library, by hand three times before ending up in exactly the same position it started in, and since when does Gabriel read anyway? Judging by some of the titles he browsed, the archangel must be a pretty heavy reader. Unless it was all for show, but what would be the point of that?

Three days later, Gabriel finally left the library and made his way to what Sam could only describe as a music room. Gabriel sat down at a large piano and Sam’s jaw dropped as he heard the beautiful music coming from Gabriel, and he’d barely picked his jaw up off the floor before it hit again when Gabriel started to sing. His rich baritone was incredible and the sadness and longing of the music moved him to tears and he hadn’t even known that was possible as a ghost. He walked around the side of the piano only to see echoing tears streaming down Gabriel’s face. It wasn’t long before the archangel’s voice broke and seemed to give up on the music, putting his arms on the keys in a loud smash and resting his head on them. Sam sighed and resigned himself to another day of moping. 

The next day something finally changed. Gabriel had just finished eating a large chocolate cake when he paused in midstep and tilted his head like he was listening to something before disappearing. Sam was, of course, along for the ride. He was very glad that ghosts couldn’t vomit when he saw where they were. He saw the thunder in Gabriel’s face fade when he realized that the little girl’s attention was on him. Sam looked around, trying to look anywhere but the battered and bleeding body strapped to the table only to find that was a bad idea. The entire place looked like some twisted torture chamber. He clearly recognized the dried blood on the walls, torture implements of all types hanging there. Thankfully empty chains dangling on one of the walls and the sight of a man in coveralls, soaked with blood, holding a bloody knife, and frozen in place. 

A little whimper drew his attention back to the girl as Gabriel stepped over and placed a hand on her forehead. The whimper quickly faded into shocked relief as all of her wounds healed, before Gabriel gently undid the straps holding her down. As soon as she was free, she jumped into Gabriel’s arms and the archangel hugged her firmly. “Are…are you an angel?” she asked pulling back to look at him in awe. 

“I sure am, kiddo,” Gabriel said with a sly smile.

“Are you gonna take me home to heaven so I can be with my mommy and daddy?” she asked hopefully. 

Sam saw Gabriel barely cover his wince at that question and the heartbreakingly hopeful tone with which it was uttered. “No, little one. It’s not your time yet,” he told her gently.

“Can I stay with you then?” she asked. “I don’t want to go back to the orphanage.”

“Do they hurt you there?” Gabriel asked suspiciously. 

“Well…no…but there’s so many kids and all the clothes are old and itchy and there’s never enough food. I don’t like it there,” she said sadly. 

“Well, we’ll see what we can do about fixing some of that shall we? But unfortunately, I can’t take you with me. You’ll be okay though. I’ll be watching over you. I have to send you back now, okay?” Gabriel said gently. 

“Okay,” she said sadly, throwing her arms around his neck again. “I love you,” she whispered. 

“And I love you, little one,” Gabriel told her before she disappeared. As soon as she was gone Gabriel turned to the still frozen man. “Now…what to do with you,” he said tapping his lips thoughtfully. “Aha! I know,” he said with a cruel smirk and snapped his fingers again. Sam had barely managed to orient himself before he noticed the man unfroze in just enough time to plummet a few dozen feet straight into an industrial fan that cut him to ribbons screaming all the way. Sam couldn’t even find it in his heart to hold it against Gabriel either. Not after the look of that basement. 

Once they left there, they ended up in front of a rather run-down orphanage and Gabriel snapped up seven large boxes of new clothes in all sizes and left them in the donation center before heading to a bank and setting up a fund for food and renovations for that same orphanage. It took a little while for Gabriel to set the terms for withdrawal and proof of expenditures and they were off towards home. 

Once they were back in Gabriel’s house again, he seemed to be feeling a little better and Sam was dragged along as Gabriel went out to his pool. Sam was too shocked to look away when he realized that Gabriel was swimming completely naked as he slid off his pants to reveal that he was going commando as well. The thought crossed his mind that Gabriel was gorgeous before he shook his head and forced himself to look away. Gabriel was gorgeous? What the hell? Where had that thought come from. Sam sat at the edge of the pool, looking anywhere but at the naked archangel playing in the water. He sighed sadly when he realized that, of course, he couldn’t even feel the water on his legs where they were dangling. This whole being a ghost thing sucked. 

After about an hour, Gabriel pulled himself out of the pool and plopped down in the lounge chair, apparently planning to work on a tan, still nude. Sam saw him snap his fingers and a book flew out from inside the house and Sam, glad for something to do at least, sat down on the ground next to him at an angle where he could read too. He found himself struggling to keep up with Gabriel’s reading speed as he read The Cat Who Walks Through Walls, but he managed to get most of it. At least he thought he did until he kept getting turned around in the story. When Gabriel flipped over, he set the book on the ground, reading through the rungs in the chair and Sam turned to continue reading as well. Even if he hated the story, it was something to do, and a nice distraction from staring at the naked archangel that he refused to admit that he might just be a little attracted to. 

Once Gabriel was finished sunning himself, he made his way back inside and continued reading while curled up on the couch with a glass of chocolate milk and a plate of cookies that he was munching on. Sam stood behind him on the couch to continue reading. Thankfully the archangel had put some shorts on, but that was all he had on. 

The next day, Sam was pulled along as Gabriel apparently ‘got back to work’ and was walking aimlessly around the center of some city that was packed with people. He wasn’t sure what Gabriel was looking for but eventually he apparently found it, because he narrowed his eyes and turned on his heel, following some guy down the street. He followed him into an office building, snapping his fingers to change into a janitor’s uniform and creating a cart to push so no one would look at him sideways as he walked through the halls. He followed the guy until he went into his rather plush office and once he knew where it was, he snapped his fingers again and the guy’s phone rang. After a short conversation he left the office and Gabriel went in. Another fingersnap and whispy illusions filled the office and seemed to be working backwards of everything that happened in here. 

Sam watched as he saw the illusion of Gabriel walking backwards out of the door the guy coming in, also backwards, sitting at his desk and then nothing for a long while until he was back at his desk. Gabriel watched on super speed what must have been the last week before he frowned and left the office again, spending the rest of the day looking busy at work in the building. Once the guy left, Gabriel followed him home and after a planted idea of them going out to eat, he slipped in the door and did the same thing in the home, getting angrier and angrier as he saw what went on in that house. He watched, in reverse as the man beat his wife, screamed at his daughter, and would have hit her too if the wife hadn’t gotten between them. 

Gabriel stuck close, watching the house even after they came home, and followed the guy out the next morning. He snapped his fingers and the guy was pulled into an alley and beaten senseless by a gang of street thugs that promptly disappeared once he was unconscious. Gabriel watched until the ambulance took him away. Sam found himself surprised at how Gabriel found his marks and how thorough he was at seeing if they deserved it. It made him wonder what he hadn’t known about all the people that Gabriel targeted in the past.


	3. Chapter 3

Once they got back to the house, Gabriel made his way back up to the music room. He looked around for a minute before moving to the back of the room, grabbing a guitar. He snapped his fingers and other musicians appeared at the other instruments and they began to play. Sam sat down and watched with a smile. He almost felt like he was getting a private concert and damn was Gabriel good. His voice alone was mesmerizing, and his skills at the guitar were just as good. After about a dozen songs, Gabriel put the guitar down with a grin, and turned to the bass player next to him and slapped his shoulder companionably, but the other guy didn’t respond and Gabriel sighed. Sam saw a shadow of something cross over his face before he snapped his fingers and they disappeared. 

It took Sam a second to figure out what that shadow was before he realized that Gabriel was lonely and didn’t that sound insane. Gabriel…the life of the party…always with a laugh or a joke…was lonely. He pulled the amulet out of his shirt and fingered it for a moment with a longing look before he shook it off, and Sam was following along again to the library. Sam felt a sigh of relief that they were going to be reading again, but was surprised when Gabriel instead pulled out a stack of notebooks and a large leatherbound book that he opened to around the center and began to write, consulting his notebooks for diagrams. 

Sam might have found that just as interesting as reading except for the fact that he didn’t understand a word of it. It looked like something about alternate dimensions and time but that was about all he could follow. When he got a glance at the math involved he couldn’t help but goggle at it. He’d taken tensor calculus in college and this was so far over his head that he could barely recognize it as math. Who knew Gabriel was a genius? Granted, it could be an archangel thing, but it was still impressive. Sam didn’t realize how deep he was getting until later that evening when he found himself in Gabriel’s bedroom as the archangel stripped himself down and laid on the bed. Sam couldn’t tear his eyes away as Gabriel’s hand moved to his cock and Sam watched it growing under his touch. 

Sam was taken aback at how well-endowed the archangel was and he was beyond turned on by the sight of Gabriel slowly stroking himself. He trailed his eyes over the rest of Gabriel’s body as the archangel ran his hand over his chest and stomach, stopping to play with his nipples along the way as he picked up the pace. By the time Gabriel was grunting and moaning with each thrust, Sam realized just how torturous being a ghost really was because he had no hope of his own release. It wasn’t long after that before Gabriel came hard, Sam’s name falling from his lips and the ghostly hunter’s jaw dropped. Gabriel…was thinking about HIM? When doing THAT? He shook the thought from his head. Maybe he was talking about another Sam. Or even a Samantha. Then he remembered Gabriel’s reaction to his death and couldn’t avoid the inescapable conclusion that Gabriel had a thing for him. 

Sam suddenly wished that he’d paid more attention when he was alive. When he could have actually had something from this. He wished he’d had a chance to see behind Gabriel’s masks then and understand him as well as he did now. Maybe they could have been happy. He felt ghostly tears streaking down his face as he watched Gabriel bring the blanket up over him and close his eyes. Sam knew that he had only himself to blame. Gabriel had tried to explain back at that college when they met, but they refused to listen. He’d tried to tell Sam at the end of Mystery Spot what he needed to do to avoid the apocalypse. He’d gotten a bit of a glimpse behind the masks when they had him in the holy fire, but he’d ignored it. How could he have been so stupid and closed-minded? How had he not seen that everything he’d ever wanted was right there in front of him all along? Part of him wished that he had crossed over. That he had never seen any of this. That he had never known. 

Sam stood there all night, watching Gabriel sleep. It seemed that the archangel COULD sleep when he wanted to, at least. He had taken a bit of time to look around the room and catalogue everything he could see, but the majority of his attention was on the little blonde angel peacefully sleeping in the bed. 

The next morning, they spent at the pool again and Sam wished that he could get in and play with Gabriel. He was no longer trying to deny his attraction so felt free to look and Gabriel seemed like he was having fun, but it would be more fun if he wasn’t playing alone. He watched on sadly as Gabriel’s loneliness was even more evident now that he was looking for it and Sam longed to take that sadness away. God, if he could ever manage to come back to life, he would make sure the archangel never had a chance to be lonely again. Hell, he would even stay a ghost forever if he could just talk to Gabriel. If Gabriel could just see him and know he was there. 

This time, Gabriel didn’t get a book while he was sunbathing and he seemed lost in thought. It was about half an hour before he suddenly sat up and Sam could almost see the light bulb over his head with the expression on his face. The next thing Sam knew they were standing in a little pizzeria and Gabriel was stalking over to a table at the back. The man sitting there looked like death warmed over. He was practically a skeleton. He looked up as they walked over and said, “Gabriel. To what do I owe the pleasure?” Sam could swear the man’s eyes flickered over to him for a moment, but it must have been a trick of the light. 

“Death,” Gabriel nodded politely. “I need a favor.” Sam’s jaw dropped. This was Death? The horseman? And Gabriel was apparently at least somewhat friendly with him?

“Oh? You must realize that I have very little ability to do favors for anyone but the one that chained me,” he pointed out, eyes once again cutting over to Sam briefly and that time Sam knew it was intentional. 

“Hey! Can you tell Gabriel I’m here? Please?” Sam asked the being realizing that he was perhaps the only person that could see him at the moment, but Death just ignored him. 

“How about we make a deal,” Gabriel suggested with a smirk. “I get you free and you owe me one favor of my request. Payment due immediately.”

Death considered the offer for a moment before nodding. “If you can free me from my chains, I will grant you one request within reason.”

“Define within reason,” Gabriel asked suspiciously. 

“I will not resurrect or reap an entire village. Nor will I give you a hundred souls. One favor, one soul,” Death told him. There was little he dealt with other than souls so he knew the favor Gabriel was seeking had to do with that. 

“Agreed,” Gabriel said with a nod. “I’ll be in touch.”

The next thing Sam knew he was standing next to his brother. His very drunk brother. Jesus. Dean looked like he hadn’t been sober at all in the two weeks since Sam died. He hoped that his brother would be able to see him at least and tried getting his attention, but once again failed miserably. “How are you doing on getting the rings?” Gabriel asked, completely ignoring the circumstances that they’d found him. 

“Seriously? My brother died…no thanks to you…and all you care about is the damn rings? Go get them yourself,” Dean snapped. 

“I plan on it. I just intended to see which ones you already have and get them from you, so I can finish this,” Gabriel said with a smirk. 

Dean got up and headed out to the car, opening the trunk and pulling out two rings and thrusting them into Gabriel’s hand. “There. Now leave me alone,” Dean said heatedly, heading back into the bar. 

“You have to tell him I’ll be back, Gabriel!” Sam cried uselessly. “Damnit!” he yelled as he suddenly felt himself moving again. They appeared back in Gabriel’s house and the archangel sat down at the kitchen table pulling out the two rings and placing them on the table. He picked one up and inspected it. “War,” he said to himself before picking up the other one. “And Famine. Good. Just Pestilence and Death to go. Easy peasy.”

Gabriel snapped his fingers and a laptop appeared. Sam watched as he did a series of searches, almost too fast for Sam to keep up. It was a few hours before he said, “Aha! Gotcha!” and then Sam was somewhere else again. It looked like an old retirement home, but all these people seemed to be deathly ill. Gabriel stalked through the halls, apparently looking for something in particular and he finally found it. He walked up to the doctor and cut off his arm with the blade that had suddenly appeared in his hand. The doctor hadn’t even seen it coming. Gabriel picked up the severed arm and pulled the ring off its finger.


	4. Chapter 4

The next thing Sam knew, they were back in another pizzeria and Gabriel was sliding into the seat opposite Death again. “Don’t suppose you’d let me borrow your ring for a bit?” Gabriel asked with a smirk. 

“Why?” Death asked curiously. 

Gabriel reached into his pocket and pulled the other rings out, opening his hand to show them to Death. “So I can open the cage and shove Luci’s ass back in,” Gabriel said smugly. 

“And if I choose to consider this your favor?” 

“You won’t,” Gabriel said, as much as a warning as a fact. “This will benefit you as much as me.”

Death looked at him for a long moment as though searching for something before he nodded. He removed his ring from his finger and slid it across the table. “I will be expecting that back, Gabriel,” he warned. 

Gabriel nodded and then they were in what seemed to be an old cemetery that looked somewhat familiar to Sam. The ghostly hunter looked around and noticed a large sign saying Stull Cemetery and he realized where they were. This was just outside of Lawrence. Why were they here? He didn’t have long to wait before Lucifer showed up. “Why have you come here, Gabriel?” he asked dangerously. 

“I’d like to know the same thing,” Gabriel heard another voice ask from behind him and he spun around to see Michael standing there in a backup vessel of his own and Gabriel resisted the urge to curse. This was not going according to plan at all. Gabriel could see no other option and raised a hand to blast his oldest brother away before pulling the rings from his pocket and chanting the spell to open the cage. He was amazed when Michael showed back up so soon. He would have thought it would take him longer to put himself back together, but Gabriel was completely helpless to interfere now as the two fought. He jumped in as well, trying to steer their fight towards the cage, and he succeeded. He internally crowed with victory as he saw Lucifer teeter on the edge. 

What happened after that was nothing but a clusterfuck in any sense of the word. Lucifer reached out for Michael to try and steady himself from falling, but only succeeded in pulling Michael along with him. Michael, refusing to go down easily, hooked a foot around Gabriel’s ankle, knocking the youngest archangel off balance and despite Gabriel’s best effort, he too was falling towards the hole. Sam screamed out a denial even as he was pulled along for the ride, thanks to the amulet that was still around Gabriel’s neck. He could only hope that he would stay a ghost down there too and they wouldn’t be able to hurt him. If only he could hold out the same hope for Gabriel. 

Unfortunately, both Michael and Lucifer blamed Gabriel for their predicament, and rightfully so. They found a new common purpose as they strung him up and started tearing strips off him. Literally. Sam was powerless to do anything but watch, tears streaming steadily down his face as he screamed uselessly for them to stop. Thankfully, their strange truce couldn’t last long before one set the other off and eventually they were embroiled in their own fight, leaving the littlest archangel alone for the moment. 

Sam had no idea how long they had been there before Death stepped in like it was nothing. “Sorry…I didn’t…get you…your ring back,” Gabriel gasped through the pain. 

“It is no matter. I have retrieved it myself when it was left unattended,” Death said, waving his hand and showing it off, as if it were an everyday conversation over tea. “I believe I do owe you a favor, however. I assume you wish to use it to escape this place?” 

“No,” Gabriel rasped.

“What the hell do you mean no?!” Sam cried out. 

“I want…Sam Wincester…restored to life,” Gabriel said. 

“Are you fucking insane?!” Sam yelled, despite knowing the archangel couldn’t hear him, but hoping that Death would take his opinion into account. “Forget about me! Get out of here! Damnit, Gabriel!” 

“I believe Sam has a differing opinion of your request,” Death said amusedly, turning to look at him. 

“Sam? He’s here? How could you bring him here?!” Gabriel yelled, injuries seemingly forgotten for the moment. 

“On the contrary. I did not bring him anywhere. You did,” Death said with a smirk. “With this,” he added reaching out a hand to pull the amulet out of his shirt. “Curious how his spirit seemed to attach to it at the moment of his death, isn’t it.”

“No,” Gabriel whispered in denial. “Get him out of here. That’s my favor. That’s what I want. Get him out of here and bring him back to life. Now,” he ordered. 

“No!” Sam cried even as Death nodded. 

“Well, Sam? Are you ready?” Death turned to him. 

“No, I’m fucking not!” Sam said. “I’m a ghost. They can’t hurt me here. And if Gabriel takes the amulet with him when you get him out, I won’t be here either.”

“You would rather spend the rest of eternity as a ghost than allow Gabriel to remain here?” Death asked, cluing Gabriel into their conversation. 

“Damn right!” Sam said. 

“The hell he will!” Gabriel snapped, glaring towards where Death was looking, despite the fact that he couldn’t see anything. “Your deal is with me. Not him. I’m the one who gets to call in the favor, and I’ve decided.”

“Gabriel makes a valid point. A deal is a deal,” Death said, ignoring Sam’s further protests and reached out to grab his soul and disappeared from the cage. 

The next thing Sam knew, he was sitting up, gasping for breath. “No! Damnit! How could you just leave him there?!” Sam sobbed, not caring in the slightest that he was alive again. 

“I did attempt to talk him into accepting his release. He refused,” Death pointed out. 

“Wait. You made a deal with him. Can you make one with me? My soul for his? Something?” 

“Well, I have honored the letter of the deal, but such a bargain would rather break the spirit of it, so no,” Death told him, disappearing from the clearing he had been resurrected in. 

“I guess a lift would have been too much to ask,” Sam muttered. He would have to hope that Death could think of something. The alternative was unbearable to think about. Sam pushed his emotions back as he pulled himself to his feet, wiping the teartracks from his face and checked his pockets. He let out a sigh of relief when he found his phone and everything else that had been there when he died. He pulled out his phone and turned it on, glad that he still had a little battery left and called Dean. 

He started walking as the phone rang, and when Dean answered, all he heard was silence for a long moment. “Dean?” he asked. 

“Sammy? Is…is it really you? How?” 

Sam could hear his brother’s voice breaking and couldn’t help but feel rather overcome with emotion himself. “Yeah. It’s me. It’s a long story, but cliffs notes version…Gabriel made a deal with Death. He would get Lucifer locked back in the cage and then Death would bring me back to life.”

“Where are you?” Dean asked quickly. 

“I don’t know yet. Still trying to figure that out. At the moment, all I can tell you is some random clearing in the woods. Listen, I don’t have much battery left on my phone, so I’m gonna go now and turn it off. Once I find a town or something, I’ll turn it back on and call you back,” Sam told him. 

Dean didn’t want to let Sam get off the phone. He wanted to know where he was and go get him and keep him on the phone the whole time, but he knew that wouldn’t work. “Okay, Sammy. I’ll be waiting for your call and I’ll have baby all gassed up and ready to go.”

“Okay, Dean. Talk to you soon,” Sam said, hanging up and turning the phone off. 

It was another twenty minutes of walking before he reached the outskirts of a town. He managed to figure out where he was as he got closer to the center of town and called Dean back. “I’m in Muncie, Indiana,” Sam told him. It seemed that he wasn’t far from where he died. 

“Shit. I’m at Bobby’s so it’s gonna take me a day to get there. Since you have your phone, I’m hoping you still have your wallet and stuff so you can get a motel and something to eat?” 

“Yeah. I do,” Sam told him. “As long as you didn’t cancel my cards. If I remember correctly, I was low on cash.”

“I didn’t cancel anything yet. I…I couldn’t,” Dean told him. 

“Then we’re good. I’ll grab a phone charger too, so you can call me when you get to town,” Sam told him. 

“Okay. I’ll be there as soon as I can,” Dean told him. 

“As soon as you SAFELY can,” Sam said firmly. “Sleep it off first. It does you no good if you kill yourself on the way.”

“Yeah. Okay. As long as you’ll be okay,” Dean said worriedly. 

“I’m fine, Dean. Really. I’m not gonna keel over before you get here,” Sam said resisting the urge to roll his eyes. 

“Okay. I’ll call you later then,” Dean told him before he hung up. Sam shook off his melancholy and turned towards getting his shit together. He could wallow once he was settled. He popped into the nearest store to grab a change of clothes so he could get out of these dirty ones and a phone charger. That done, he walked to the nearest motel, plugged his phone in, and ordered a pizza before he allowed himself to consider the archangel still stuck in the cage just because he cared too much about Sam to give up on him. He would find a way to get him out. He had to.


	5. Chapter 5

Despite the fact that Sam had spent the last few weeks just wishing he could eat, among other things, his pizza tasted like ash. How could anything taste good right now? Once he was done eating, he curled up on the bed and cried himself to sleep. How was this his life? It just wasn’t fair. The next morning, he finished the pizza and turned his attention to planning. He was hoping that Dean thought to bring his stuff and his laptop. He wasn’t about to waste the little money they had on their cards to get a new one. He pulled out the little notepad that the motel provided and a pen and started brainstorming. 

Death had mentioned that Lucifer had ‘chained’ him. Sam hadn’t seen any chains and Lucifer wasn’t even around when they met with Death so he assumed that the horseman had meant it figuratively. The question was whether it was something that Lucifer could only do because he was an archangel or there was maybe a spell that Sam could use to do the same. If he could ‘chain’ Death, he would offer his freedom for Gabriel. That could work, but it was a long shot. He wrote down, ‘Chain Death’, on his list of ideas, followed quickly by ‘Deal with Death’. 

He didn’t know what he had to offer that Death might want though and he spent hours wracking his brain to try and think of something he could offer the entity. Maybe the rest of eternity as his assistant or something? It was an idea. He jotted it down. He was pulled from his musing by the sound of his stomach growling and when he realized that he was out of pizza, he headed out for lunch/dinner. By the time he got back with his food, it was almost four o’clock. No sooner than he finished eating, he realized that he wasn’t alone in the room anymore and he gasped and jumped up. “Gabriel! How?!”

“Death came back for me. Said we amused him, but that I owe him now. Oh and he gave a me a message for you,” Gabriel told him. 

“What message?” Sam asked confused. 

“He said that if you even try that first thing on your list that he wouldn’t hesitate to reap you,” Gabriel told him. “What list and what was on it?” he asked. 

“I was trying to come up with ways to get Death to spring you. My first idea was to find a way to chain him like Lucifer did and offer his freedom in exchange for getting you out,” Sam said with a sheepish shrug. 

Gabriel’s eyes went wide. That wouldn’t have ended well for any of them. “Please, just forget that entire idea,” Gabriel practically begged. 

“Well, I don’t need to anymore now do I,” Sam said with a grin. 

Just as he started to reach out to the archangel there was a pounding on the door. “Sam!” Dean yelled. 

“I should go. Just wanted to make sure you were okay and you got the message,” Gabriel said as he disappeared. 

“Gabriel wait!” Sam called. “Damnit.” He was too late. He sighed and went to let his brother in. He had to have the worst timing on the planet. No sooner than he opened the door, he was trapped in a tight hug, followed by a salt and silver test, and then another tight hug. 

“So, Gabriel really came through huh?” Dean asked. 

“Yeah. He did,” Sam told him, not sure whether he should bring up his time as a ghost or not. Eventually he decided that he had to. If he was going to be chasing the archangel, Dean would be extremely confused and suspicious without that info. “There’s something you should know…”

“What?” Dean asked worriedly. 

“When I…I died, I didn’t move on. I didn’t even get the option. My ghost was apparently bound to something I had with me. Something that Gabriel took when he left that day.”

“So you’ve been stuck following Gabriel around for weeks?” Dean said distastefully. “That sucks.”

“Not really,” Sam admitted. “I mean, yeah, being a ghost and not able to communicate or do anything sucked, but I realized some things in that time.”

“What kind of things?” Dean asked suspiciously. 

“Gabriel isn’t at all what we thought he was. He’s much different when he’s alone and drops his guard,” Sam said. 

“Oh crap. Don’t tell me you’ve fallen for the archdouche, Sam,” Dean groaned, recognizing the light in Sam’s eyes. Sam just gave a sheepish shrug. “Oh, come on! Whatever else he is, he’s a killer remember?” 

“I remember. I even saw him kill someone when I was with him,” Sam said, continuing to talk over Dean when he tried to protest. “That was right after he unstrapped the six year old girl from the torture chamber, and healed her wounds, and comforted her. After he killed the guy who’d been cutting her to pieces, he went straight to her orphanage, donated a ton of new clothes, and then went to the bank and set up a fund for the orphanage to buy food and make some renovations with. Just because she had wanted him to take her to heaven instead because she hated the orphanage.”

“But that’s…” 

“I’m pretty sure it was her prayer that led him to her. I also saw him get a guy beaten senseless and mugged. After he had watched the guy beating his wife almost to death for trying to protect their daughter from the same fate.”

“So, you’re saying that he kills the people that deserve it? And you’re really qualified to make that judgement?” Dean tried to protest. 

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. And no. I’m not. But he is,” Sam told him. 

Dean just sighed. Gabriel had gotten him his brother back. If Sam wanted the asshole, then he wouldn’t stand in the way. He owed Gabriel that much, at least. “Fine. But I still don’t like it.” Then a thought dawned on him. “Hey, wait a minute! Why the hell couldn’t he fly you to South Dakota instead of making me drive all the way out here?” 

“Because when he put Lucifer back in the cage, both himself and Michael got pulled in with him,” Sam said with a wince. 

“So, he’s…” Dean suddenly felt a little sick. 

“Not anymore. Death apparently got him out just before you got here,” Sam told him. 

“Oh. Good. So, he wasn’t there long then,” Dean said relieved. 

“You remember how hell time works Dean. Two days is a lot longer there than it is here,” Sam pointed out, but overall he still agreed with Dean. He would be thinking it was a good deal too if he hadn’t seen what Lucifer and Michael did to him before Death arrived. 

“Yeah. I know,” Dean winced at the reminder. “Come on. Let’s head to Bobby’s. He’s rather anxious to see you too.”

“Let’s wait until morning to head out. I’d be willing to bet you’ve been driving for the last twelve hours anyway and I could use a good night’s sleep. The thought of Gabriel in the cage kept me up last night.”

“Yeah, okay. That works,” Dean said, unwilling to admit that he might just be a little tired too. He had only slept for a few hours before he was up and on the road anyway. “Come on. Let’s grab a double,” Dean suggested. 

“Actually…” Sam said tentatively. “I was hoping to get Gabriel to come by so we could talk a bit. Would you mind grabbing another single?” 

Dean didn’t want to let his brother out of his sight at the moment, but he didn’t see much choice in the matter. If Sam was going to be talking to Gabriel…and maybe doing more with Gabriel…he sure as hell didn’t want to see that. “Fine,” he grumbled and headed out. He brought Sam’s bag in before he headed to the office to get his own room. 

Once he was alone again, Sam sat down on the bed and prayed. “Gabriel, will you come by please? I want to talk to you.”


	6. Chapter 6

Gabriel got Sam’s prayer and he fought with himself about going for a while. If Death was right and Sam had been anchored to the amulet the entire time, then he had seen everything. He had been there with Gabriel ever second. He’d seen him break down. Seen him get blind drunk. Seen him moping around. Seen behind all the masks that he kept up at all times around other people. He didn’t know if he could cope with that. It didn’t take long before he realized that he couldn’t not go. He, at the very least, had to give Sam back his amulet. He let out a heavy sigh and flew away. 

“Hey, Sam. Sorry. I should have give this back to you before,” Gabriel said starting to pull it off his neck. 

Sam’s hands caught Gabriel’s before he could get it off though. “Keep it,” Sam said softly, not removing his hands from Gabriel’s. How long had he been dying to touch him. It seemed like forever. He ran his thumb over the back of Gabriel’s hand. 

“Sam?” Gabriel said confused. 

Sam just stared at him for a moment longer before he couldn’t help himself anymore. He couldn’t think of what to say, so he decided to just show Gabriel. He leaned forward and pressed his lips gently to Gabriel’s, moving one of his hands up to brush the archangel’s cheek as Gabriel sucked in a sharp breath at the action. When Gabriel began to kiss him back, Sam went to deepen the kiss and Gabriel immediately opened for him. It was slow and sweet and meant everything to Sam. When they finally broke apart, Sam didn’t go far, resting his forehead against the archangel’s with a satisfied sigh. 

“Sam?” Gabriel said again, still confused. 

Now Sam had the words. “I love you, Gabriel,” he whispered. 

“You…but you don’t even like me,” Gabriel tried to wrap his head around this. 

“I didn’t know you then,” Sam said pointedly. 

Gabriel blanched at the reminder of everything Sam had seen. “I didn’t know…” he started to say and then stopped himself, not sure where he had been going with that statement. God, it was so hard to think with Sam so close. 

With that, Sam stepped back with a sigh, but didn’t let go of Gabriel’s hand, leading him over to sit on the bed. “About that…I couldn’t believe you couldn’t sense me. I even tried to contact you. I know I’ve been a ghost before and able to move things and make myself visible and stuff, but nothing worked.”

“Yeah, that would be my fault,” Gabriel said sheepishly. “Sorry.” When Sam looked to want more explanation, Gabriel continued. “I put wards around myself centuries ago to keep ghosts from contacting me. Basically, if they’re within a certain distance of me, they won’t be able to manifest in any way.”

“Why?”

“Do you know how many ghosts see an archangel and start begging for a trip to heaven? Even if I wasn’t on the run, I wouldn’t have been able to help them, so it was just easier to avoid them,” Gabriel said with a shrug. 

“Ah. That makes sense,” Sam said before getting back to what he needed to say. “Gabriel…I know that I essentially invaded your privacy in the worst ways, but I didn’t exactly have a choice. I just want to say, I’m sorry.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry for. Like you said. You didn’t have a choice,” Gabriel tried to brush it off. 

“Still. I’m mostly sorry because I’m not sorry,” Sam said getting a ‘what the hell is that supposed to mean’ look from the archangel. “I’m not sorry because it gave me a chance to get to know you. To see the real you. To…to fall in love with you. But at the same time, I know that it should have been your choice to open up to me, despite the fact that I may not have given you that chance if my eyes hadn’t been forcibly opened. I don’t even know if I’m making sense,” Sam sighed. 

“You are,” Gabriel said softly, squeezing Sam’s hand that had yet to let go of his. ‘I’m…I’m just…” Gabriel was struggling to speak, but he knew that Sam deserved an explanation. “I’m feeling rather vulnerable and exposed at the moment, and I know that’s not your fault. If anything it’s mine. I’m the one with the ghost wards up. I’m the one who took the amulet when you died. But it doesn’t change how I feel. To top it off, everything that happened in the cage…I just…I need some time to get my head straight, you know?” 

Sam nodded sadly. “Yeah, I get that. But when you do…you’ll come back right?” he asked hopefully. 

“I will,” Gabriel promised, reaching up to run a hand through Sam’s hair and pulled the hunter forward so their heads were resting together. 

“I’ll be waiting for you,” Sam whispered a promise. 

Gabriel tilted his head forward and kissed Sam softly. “Good,” he whispered back before he disappeared. Sam laid down and fell fast asleep with a smile on his face. It might not have been as much as he hoped, but it was plenty. Gabriel would come back and they would be together. He could wait. 

The next morning, Dean was knocking on his door at an ungodly hour, but given that they had both had extremely early nights, he was, thankfully, already awake. Once they were on the road, Dean asked, “So where’s the pixie?” 

“Taking some time to get his head together after hell,” Sam told him. “He’ll be around when he’s fit to be around people again.” 

Dean took a moment to scrutinize Sam to see how he felt about that before he nodded. He waited until after they got back to South Dakota and had a rather emotional reunion with Bobby before he dropped the bomb that he’d been thinking about since he got back. “I don’t want to hunt anymore, Dean,” he told his brother. 

“What?” Dean asked incredulously. 

“I don’t want to hunt anymore,” Sam said again. “I want out. And so do you,” he pointed out. 

“I don’t…”

“You want to go to Lisa. Don’t try and deny it. Look, Dean. I never really wanted in in the first place. First it was about saving Dad, then killing yellow-eyes, then getting you out of your deal, then stopping the seals, then stopping Lucifer…it’s done. We’re done. No more unfinished business. We can be free,” Sam said emphatically. 

“It’s not that easy to get out, Sam,” Dean pointed out. 

“I never said it would be easy. But it would be worth it, and you know it,” Sam told him. 

“The kid’s right. If you have a chance to get out, you should take it. Have a life. Be happy,” Bobby chimed in. “Don’t let this job take your lives the way it has for the rest of us.”

“I’ll think about it,” Dean said. That was the most he could promise right now. In the meantime, they stayed with Bobby and helped him out around the salvage yard and with the hotline. After a few weeks, Dean seemed to have come to a decision and he packed up and headed back to Cicero, Indiana looking for Lisa and Ben. He made Sam swear to keep in touch, and reminded him that he would have the benefit of angel air whenever Gabriel showed back up so there was no excuse for not visiting often. 

Once Dean was gone, Bobby turned to Sam. “You sticking around for a while?” he asked curiously, wondering why Sam wasn’t taking this opportunity to strike out on his own too. 

“I figure I’ll wait for Gabriel. You don’t mind if I do that here do you?” Sam asked hopefully. He was hoping that once Gabriel got back he would be able to live with him. There wasn’t much point in getting set up somewhere and then bailing. 

“Nah. I don’t mind. But don’t think I won’t put you to work,” Bobby told him. 

Sam laughed. “I wouldn’t expect anything different.” 

After a few weeks, he was rather surprised when Bobby started paying him for his work around the salvage yard. Helping with the hotline was still on a volunteer basis, of course, but since the salvage yard was essentially his job these days, he supposed he shouldn’t have been surprised. The weeks passed into months and Sam was starting to get discouraged. What if Gabriel changed his mind? What if he decided not to come back? What if he’d found someone else even? He tried not to let it get him too down, but after six months with no sign of the archangel, he was considering moving on and finding his own life. God, but he missed Gabriel so much.


	7. Chapter 7

Sam had decided that he had imposed on Bobby long enough. It was time to hit the road. He would find another job somewhere and a place to stay. He had a bit of money saved up from what Bobby had been paying him. Enough to get set up at least. He had just finished packing his bag to head out the next morning, when he wasn’t alone in the room anymore. “Hey Sam,” Gabriel said nervously, avoiding looking at the hunter. 

“Gabriel!” Sam said happily. “You’re back!...right?” he hated how vulnerable that last word sounded, but he hadn’t been able to help it. 

“Yeah. I am. If you still…I mean…if I’m not too late,” Gabriel stammered only to be pulled into a passionate kiss. 

“I told you I’d wait,” Sam said softly, resting his forehead against the archangel’s. 

“I’m sorry, Sam. I didn’t mean to keep you waiting so long,” Gabriel said apologetically, still not moving from Sam’s arms as they stood there. 

“Why did you?” Sam asked curiously, but without any hint of accusation. 

“It wasn’t intentional. I was hanging out at this little monastery in Tibet and the monks aren’t much for calendars and I just…kinda lost track of time,” Gabriel said sheepishly. 

Sam’s lips twitched in amusement. Only Gabriel could lose track of time for six months. “Did you find what you needed there, at least?” 

“Yeah. I’m probably more mentally healthy now than I have been in centuries.”

“Then it was worth it,” Sam told him, leaning in for another soft kiss. 

“Going somewhere?” Gabriel asked, gesturing to the packed bag. 

“Figured I’d imposed on Bobby enough. Was just gonna go out and make a life for myself while I was waiting for you,” Sam said with a shrug. 

“Well…how about making a life with me instead?” Gabriel asked hopefully. 

Sam grinned. “I was hoping you’d say that.” 

Gabriel answered his grin with one of his own. “My place then?” 

“Let me just go let Bobby know I’m leaving. I’ll be right back,” Sam told him, finally tearing himself away from the archangel. He stopped in the door way. “Just…don’t go anywhere,” he added. 

“Not on your life, Sammykins,” Gabriel chuckled. 

Sam was back about ten minutes later and Gabriel grabbed Sam’s bag with one hand and reached out the other to Sam who immediately took it and they disappeared. 

They reappeared in a house that Sam knew all too well, and he couldn’t help but smile as he looked around. “I would give you the tour, but…” Gabriel said amusedly. Sam couldn’t help but laugh at that. “So do you want to stay in my room or start in the spare room and work up to it?” 

“There’s not much point in getting settled in the spare room just to move later,” Sam said with a very Gabriel-like smirk. 

“I was hoping you’d say that,” Gabriel threw Sam’s words from before back at him. 

Sam pulled him in for another soft kiss and then led them to the couch where they curled up together. “So, you want to tell me about the last six months?” Sam asked curiously, hoping that Gabriel would open up to him now that he actually had a choice. 

Gabriel sighed and curled tighter to his side. He knew what Sam was asking for and had no intention of denying him even if it was hard for him to do so. He decided to start with them instead of hell. “There’s a reason I never let anyone see the ‘real me’. I’m a lot more…vulnerable…than I want people to believe. If they think I’m cold and heartless than they don’t know how deeply they can hurt me. When I get hurt, I tend to…lash out,” Gabriel explained. Sam could believe that given his breakdown after Sam died. Gabriel went on to give an example. “You’ve heard of Pompei I presume?” he asked. “That was when Kali and I split. 

“That was you?!” Sam asked wide-eyed. 

“It wasn’t intentional,” Gabriel shrugged sheepishly. “I was just sitting on top of the mountain stewing. I didn’t realize that my powers were lashing out too. The first hint I had that something was wrong was when the ground cracked under my feet. By then the chain reaction had already begun. It was too late to stop it.”

“Well, I’m not naïve enough to think that we’ll never fight, but maybe when we do, you stay away from any mountains until we get things fixed?” Sam suggested torn between horrified and amused. 

“That’s probably a good idea,” Gabriel said with a chuckle before getting back to the point. “I think the biggest thing was that I didn’t know it was happening. That someone was seeing past every one of the walls I had up to protect myself and I had no idea. It made me feel more than a little exposed and I have a tendency to run when things start getting real. I didn’t want to do that to you though, so I figured that taking the time to get myself together first and get that urge out of my system now, with your full knowledge, would be better than just taking off and sabotaging everything once we got in too deep.”

“That’s smart. I’m glad you did it that way,” Sam told him gratefully. He didn’t want to think about how he would feel if Gabriel did a runner later, especially if he was running scared and Sam had no idea what was going on. Sam had every intention of taking this relationship the distance, and if Gabriel needed some time to mentally prepare himself for that, it was good that he took it. “Because now we have nothing standing in our way, right?” 

“Right. I…I love you, Sam,” Gabriel said softly. He knew that Sam had said that to him before, but he hadn’t been able to say it back then. Now he could. 

Sam pulled him into a long sweet kiss, before pulling back. “I love you too, Gabriel. Always,” he whispered lovingly. 

“So, your turn. Tell me about your last six months,” Gabriel said cheerfully. 

“There’s not really much to tell. I talked Dean into quitting hunting and just worked at the salvage yard until you came. I did help out with the hunter hotline, doing research and stuff, but there wasn’t really anything special,” Sam said with a shrug. 

“Okay. Fair enough,” Gabriel said. “Then tell me about being a ghost? We never really talked about that.”

Sam smiled. “It was miserable, but at the same time the best experience of my life. For one thing, I never realized how much I took for granted. Eating, sleeping, relaxing, reading a book, having a drink…and you.” Sam took a moment to look back on it fondly before going into more detail. “I was so confused when I watched you break down over my death. Like you intended, I had thought you were cold and heartless. I couldn’t figure out why you would even care. I watched you mope around for a while and realized that you felt things a lot deeper than you wanted anyone to know. That was especially evident in your music. When you played the piano that day…I was mesmerized. I think that was when I first started to fall.”

“I’ll have to remember to play more for you then,” Gabriel chuckled. 

“Please do,” Sam said with a smile, pressing a kiss to Gabriel’s head that was resting on his shoulder. “So, then I saw what you did for that little girl. That was the major clue I had that maybe I didn’t have all the information on the people you went after. Seeing you comfort her and then what you did for that orphanage was a major eye-opener. It was right after that when I saw you naked for the first time,” he teased. 

Gabriel laughed loudly. “Another ‘eye-opener’ was it?” he asked mischievously. Of all the things he was embarrassed about Sam seeing, his body wasn’t one of them. He definitely wasn’t the slightest bit shy where that was concerned. 

“I tried to avoid looking as much as possible that time. I still hadn’t quite come to terms with the fact that I was attracted to you yet. I can’t tell you how glad I was when you grabbed a book while you were sunbathing. Not only did it give me something to do, but it was a nice distraction from your nudity,” Sam said with a chuckle. “Of course, your taste in books sucks,” he added off-handedly. 

“Hey, I’ll have you know The Cat Who Walks Through Walls is a classic. It just takes a few reads before you understand it. There’s a lot of back and forth in time and loops that are later undone and such. You can’t decide you hate it after one partial read,” Gabriel defended himself amusedly. 

Sam just shook his head at that. “Anyway. Then I saw how you actually pick your victims. At least some of it. I have no idea how you knew what that guy was up to.”

“I could see the taint in his soul. Then it was just a matter of finding out what caused it and if it was worth retribution,” Gabriel enlightened him. 

“Oh. That makes sense,” Sam said with a nod. “So basically over the time I spent here as a ghost, I realized how caring you were, how talented you were, how smart you were, and even how gorgeous you were. It wasn’t until you were…um…servicing yourself that I realized how far I had fallen and it hit me like a ton of bricks, and when I heard you say my name…I was gone. There was no coming back after that.”

“Oh yeah. Forgot about that,” Gabriel said amusedly. “So you liked the show huh?” he asked seductively. 

“Very much so,” Sam returned in the same tone, locking eyes with the archangel. 

“How about a repeat then, now that you’re able to enjoy it?” Gabriel asked, trailing a finger down Sam’s chest. 

“Mmm. And in this repeat show, is audience participation permitted?” Sam asked enjoying the little byplay they had going here. 

“Oh, it’s more than permitted, my dear Samsquatch. It’s highly encouraged,” Gabriel drawled and the next thing he knew he was being dragged up the stairs to the bedroom.


End file.
